Barcelona 2006

Coach: Frank Rijkaard

Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona won the club's second Champions League in 2006, coming from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1 in the final in Paris after Sol Campbell had given the Gunners an unlikely lead. Substitute Henrik Larsson set up both goals in the final quarter of an hour, with Samuel Eto'o levelling before Juliano Belletti struck a late winner, sealing the comeback against an Arsenal side reduced to ten men since the 18th minute. The squad's real star, though, was Ronaldinho, at the very peak of his powers and the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year, whose combination of flair and end product made Barcelona box-office viewing across Europe; he was flanked by a young Lionel Messi, still establishing himself as a first-team regular, and Deco pulling strings in midfield. Rijkaard had rebuilt the club after a difficult transitional period in the early 2000s, and this triumph — Barcelona's first European Cup since the 1992 Cruyff-era win — re-established the club among the continent's elite and set the stage for the even more dominant Guardiola sides that followed.